I realise that you’re never supposed to start off with an apology but this is a necessary evil, I reckon. If anything goes awry with the set up and structure of this blog, don’t be surprised. I will have fouled something up. I’ve never attempted such a task before and, to be entirely honest, I have no idea what I’m doing. In fact, I don’t understand most of the technical terms used and, as a Kiwi bloke, I admit to an innate aversion to reading instuctions of any sort. Without the help of my daughter Alex, who set the technological process in motion, this project would not have proceeded beyond the theoretical. Thanks, dear.
Anyway, during the recent Christmas holidays, I had an idea. Having taught at Feilding High School for something over four decades I’ve had the privilege of coming across a large number of smart people, many of whom are using their writing to make successful careers. One thing we all need to succeed, whether we’re teenagers or not, is confidence and it occurred to me that if I could assemble a collection of pieces of writing created by our past students, just maybe this would boost the confidence of our current cohorts and inspire them to improve their writing so that their employment opportunities and choice of leisure activities are greatly widened.
So that’s the dream. Over the next few days I’ll be introducing some established writers and a few who are yet to be “discovered”. You’ll be reading columns, essays, poems, editorials, sports news, satire…..just about everything.
Philip Jeffreys